Overcoming the incumbency and barriers to sustainable cooling

Jesus Lizana; Nicole D. Miranda; Larisa Gross; Antonella Mazzone; Francois Cohen; Giovani Palafox-Alcantar; Patrick Fahr; Anant Jani; Renaldi Renaldi; Malcolm McCulloch; Radhika Khosla

doi:10.5334/bc.255

Buildings & Cities (Dec 2022)

Overcoming the incumbency and barriers to sustainable cooling

Jesus Lizana,
Nicole D. Miranda,
Larisa Gross,
Antonella Mazzone,
Francois Cohen,
Giovani Palafox-Alcantar,
Patrick Fahr,
Anant Jani,
Renaldi Renaldi,
Malcolm McCulloch,
Radhika Khosla

Affiliations

Jesus Lizana: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Energy and Power Group, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford
Nicole D. Miranda: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Energy and Power Group, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford
Larisa Gross: E3G—Third Generation Environmentalism, London
Antonella Mazzone: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford
Francois Cohen: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford; Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Department of Economics, Chair of Energy Sustainability and Institute of Economics of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Barcelona
Giovani Palafox-Alcantar: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford
Patrick Fahr: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford
Anant Jani: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford
Renaldi Renaldi: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield
Malcolm McCulloch: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Energy and Power Group, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford
Radhika Khosla: Future of Cooling Programme, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford; Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.255
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 3, no. 1

Abstract

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This article examines cooling in the built environment, an area of rapidly rising energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the status quo of cooling is assessed and proposals are made for how to advance towards sustainable cooling through five levers of change: social interactions, technology innovations, business models, governance and infrastructure design. Achieving sustainable cooling requires navigating the opportunities and barriers presented by the incumbent technology that currently dominates the way in which cooling is provided—the vapour-compression refrigerant technology (or air-conditioners). Air-conditioners remain the go-to solution for growing cooling demand, with other alternatives often overlooked. This incumbent technology has contributed to five barriers hindering the transition to sustainable cooling: (1) building policies based exclusively on energy efficiency; (2) a focus on temperature rather than other thermal comfort variables; (3) building-centric design of cooling systems instead of occupant-centric design; (4) businesses guided by product-only sales; and (5) lack of innovation beyond the standard operational phase of the incumbent technology. Opportunities and priority actions are identified for policymakers, cooling professionals, technicians and citizens to promote a transition towards sustainable cooling. Policy relevance The priority actions that can overcome key barriers to a sustainable cooling pathway are as follows. (1) Moving building policies beyond energy efficiency to address climate mitigation and adaptation for improving the heat resilience of the built environment. Building indicators are needed to measure the passive survivability to heat. (2) Conventional cooling control and related regulations based exclusively on air temperature require expansion in scope to consider a wider range of thermal comfort variables, thus stimulating technological innovation. (3) Shifting building-centric cooling control to an occupant-centric design, downsizing centralised cooling requirements and enabling adaptive environments integrating personalised environmental control systems. (4) Business models moving from product-oriented to service-based businesses. (5) Environmental cooling considerations that address the humidity influence, the role of energy storage to support renewables through energy flexibility in cooling, and the impact of F-gases. Regulation and citizen empowerment through better environmental labelling can play an important role.

Published in Buildings & Cities

ISSN: 2632-6655 (Online)
Publisher: Ubiquity Press
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Building construction: Architectural engineering. Structural engineering of buildings
Website: https://journal-buildingscities.org/

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